Explaining social disparities in ICT literacy: the role of multiple socioeconomic status indicators and ICT-related motivations

Abstract The aim of this research was to enhance understanding of how students’ socioeconomic status (SES) relates to their information and communication technology (ICT) literacy in specific aspects. Although social disparities in ICT literacy have been subject of research for more than two decades, little is known about which family characteristics determine these and how these disparities are mediated. Therefore, first, the effects of multiple SES indicators (parents` educational level, occupational status of parents, cultural capital) on ICT literacy were examined. Based on scholarly cultural theory and recent research, it was expected that cultural capital (i.e., the number of books at home) would show a stronger correlation with ICT literacy compared to other SES factors. Second, ICT usage motives were investigated as mediators of the relationship between various SES indicators (i.e., cultural capital in particular) and ICT literacy. This gap was addressed by using data from a comprehensive study involving German 15-year-olds ( N = 14,436) and analyzing both cross-sectional and longitudinal impacts on ICT literacy over three years. The results provide strong support for the hypothesized framework, i.e. they stress the importance of cultural capital as well as the role of ICT usage motives as mediating variables for the development of ICT literacy. Longitudinally, ICT usage motives could account for over a quarter (28%) of the cultural capital to ICT literacy association. Nevertheless, the findings point to open questions which primarily refer to processes of parental media socialization.